I really enjoyed My Sweet Girl by this mangaka, so when I saw they had another series I knew I wanted to read it.

This is a coming of age manga, focusing on love and friendship. It was so relatable seeing Hikari’s thoughts and view of herself, especially compared to her beautiful best friend.

I really enjoyed having chapters from both Hikari and Ohtani’s viewpoints. I’m looking forward to the next volume, and hoping we get to see more from Asagiri’s view in that one as well.

2.5 stars.

It’s fine but there’s not much to make me want to continue. Unfortunately half of the characters feel very flat and uninteresting. The art really nice.

I am extremely interested to see how this series develops. We spent a lot of time on our first character facing an unrequited love, and I admit I got a bit confused as I know there are four. This first volume focuses mainly on Hikari, it's not until the last quarter of the volume that we switch perspectives, and I'm still not positive who our remaining unrequited lovers are (though I have a suspicion for the third!) I think we're getting really decent building of both the individual characters' personalities and their relationship dynamics with each other. I'm definitely excited to read the next volume.

First of all, I want to say that the translation was a little complicated to understand at times and I was confused about what exactly was happening. But other than that, it was pretty good! I love a good unrequired love story because it tends to be relatable and angsty.

I liked Hikari and Ohtani as separate characters and also as a ship. Honestly, Mari, Hikari's best friend, could have been more developed. I think the love triangle would make more sense if I saw something between Ohtani and Mari, but I didn't feel like the chemistry was there since her character felt flat.

Overall, it's a good start to the series, but I'm afraid it didn't leave a lasting enough impression on me to continue the series (as of now).
3.5 stars!

*Thanks to NetGalley uk, the publishers and the author for the ARC*

Full review in Booklist magazine

Hikari tries to convince herself she's not in love with Ohtani, that he's actually the perfect match for her best friend. She tries her hardest to help support her best friend find ways to talk with Ohtani and find out information about him, but the closer she gets, the more she realizes Ohtani is the perfect guy for her. This romance is a bit of a slow burn and has plenty of angst. Hopefully, the other characters can get some development in future volumes since this one focused heavily on Hikari and her perspective.

Sara's Rating: 8/10
Suitability Level: Grades 9-12

I loved this one. It kinda gives me vibes somewhere between, "My Love Mix-Up" and "Blue Flag". The FMC, Hikari is really relatelable and I can't wait for her to realize she is worthy of the spotlight too. I really like unrequited high school love stories. I'll be reading the next volume for sure.

A truly intriguing story, it immediately captivates you and intrigues you.
You can empathize with her, the protagonist, unrequited love is one of those things that really makes you feel bad.
It was truly exciting first volume, I'm super curious to know how it will continue.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publishers, and the author and artist for the ARC I read.

The art style is really nice and it’s a cute little slice of life story, but it’s also kind of sad being about unrequited love and all. I like the main characters but I don’t really see how this story doesn’t end up with someone getting hurt so it’s a little hard for me to want to read. At the same time I am very curious to know how it’ll end so I probably will end up picking up the sequel. Hoping for the other characters POVs in the sequel, especially Mari’s.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange of an honest review. Thank you!
First I need to mention that the translation was very confusing sometimes... Some sentences and dialogues were inexplicable... I would suggest a reread from the publisher.
The story is interesting, and Hikari is a nice and friendly character. This first volume shows the beginning of Hikari's attempst for 'matchmaking' her friends. As it is expected she meets some difficulties and dramas. I don't like her friend Mari at all... She is so boring and neutral, I don't root for her at all :'D
I think I guess what the title refers to, and so it is a good one, maybe a bit long.
It was a nice read but I don't think I will follow the story of Hikari :/

I loved reading this book.
I loved the characters. Everyone has their principles and is faithful to them. I especially loved the main character, who understands herself and decides what she wants. She is honest with herself.
I also loved the love interest, that despite liking the protagonist's friend, he's not just that. He is grateful for the friendship that the four are forming and recognizes what the protagonist does for him.
I loved it, it's so cute.
And the drawings are so amazing, I really love the art.
I'm really loving the story and super curious to see how this develops.

They say first loves never come true, and in Mori’s case, it rings true. She spends her days helping her two close friends get together, even if it’s at the expense of her own happiness. I liked this portrayal of love, where Mori sincerely wishes for her the two people she loves to find their happiness. At the same time, it’s saddening to see her heartbroken. She knows her love won’t come true but she’ll put on a smile and wish them well.

It’s a cute and bittersweet story, but it’s lacking the heart squeezing punch I was hoping to feel. This is only the first volume, and I have a feeling I’ll get this aching later on in the series.

Hmm, not sure what to say about this one. The ending left me intrigued enough to want to continue to see what happens, but at the same time, I don't feel drawn to pick it up either. 🙈

I like how Hikari does seem different compared to other shoujo manga heroines I've read recently though! I really love how she wants to be there for her friend, but I think I realized this story won't be for me with the approaching love triangle (square?).

Definitely not a bad story, but I unfortunately don't love the cast of characters enough to endure the angst this story is sure to give. 😅

Very glad I at least gave it a try though and the art sure is nice!

*(I received an e-copy from Kodansha via NetGalley. All thoughts expressed are my own.)*

A very light love triangle story, with the unrequited love helping her love interest flirt with her best friend. Cute and sweet but not really a standout for me.

WOW. The story's portrayal was simple yet absolutely breathtaking. I was immediately drawn into the story and couldn't help but want to read more. The raw emotions of the characters, the nuances of their relationships, and more were illustrated so delicately yet directly. 10/10.

I love this! It is so cute and I like the cuteness of both Mari and Hikari. Mari i9s conventionally cute but Hikari is sweet, kind and you can see shes evolving. It was a great read.

I love reading YA book and this took me back to my school days of love, friendship and all. The illustrations were beautiful and charming. The plot was heartwarming and i absolutely love all the characters.

This digital ARC was obtainable via NetGalley for an honest review.

This was so good! I love to read shojo manga because of the way they portray romance and friendships. "I See Your Face, Turned Away" had all the components that I usually enjoy in this genre. We do have a love square going on, but I am so invested! I wonder what is going to happen in the next volume.

Wanting what you can’t have is hard. I hope that in the future of this series that each person learns to see more then just that one person they like that doesn’t like them back. I read this because it is something I experienced in middle school and high school and I feel like at that age we can’t help ourselves. We fall in love with the idea of love and don’t realize that the person that doesn’t feel the same way as you do about them, is never going to be that right person for you.

The tone throughout this entire story is that hopeful sadness. It felt like reading the parts of high school you wish to forget. The cliques and the jealousy and wanting to fit in more than you stand out. I wish that it’s something that didn’t continue on and we started to celebrate individual talents more than fostering jealousy between students. Also, making student ability more then just about being the best at one thing or another, but encouraging each individuals growth.

Reading this I realized I don’t really miss high school at all. As much as I loved to learn, the emotions and the social rules and hierarchy’s that form were a source of frustration for me. It’s something that I hope everyone matures out of.

The story itself is a very realistic story of what high school is like. The way it made me vividly relive my own high school experience shows that the author very much remembers her high school experience. It’s not the fondest of memories.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kodansha for the e-book copy!

This title is one of my anticipated manga reads of the year. This series is getting critical acclaim in Japan and I wanted to see if it was worth the praise. I See Your Face, Turned Away is about four teens experiencing unrequited love. Unrequited love is a trope that I would say is sometimes overrated. However, in this one, it didn't feel that way. I felt it helped to move the story along in a steady progression. The problem that I had with this came with the characters. In this first vol, we are introduced to the teens and see their relationship dynamics. Their relationships lacked the depth needed for me to understand why we should care. I hope as the story goes on it focuses on those relationships more and less on the unrequited love. I will give this another volume to see if it improves for me.

I liked I See Your Face - it's a beautifully drawn, funny story about highschool crushes that embraces the fact that they are not always successful, but worthwhile experiences nontheless. The thing is, though, I think the design for the series doesn't come through on the basis of one volume alone -- having read it previously online, I can tell that it feels more satisfying as a whole picture. It has a lot of staples of shoujo manga, but because it chooses to tell the story across four POVs in covering events that overlap a little between each other, it reads different to a one-shot collection and to a straight up narrative with separate perspectives. I welcome the change in format, I liked getting an insight into the heads of the four main characters. It's just that volume one presents only one of the POVs and only begins to show the other one, so it's hard to appreciate the overall design. I recommend you stick out with the continuation of this story: the best one comes last, because your intuition isn't wrong: Asa-chan's story is the one that reads in the most fulfilling way.

Thanks to Netgalley and Kodansha for an ARC of this manga.